Veneto
Monteforte D'Alpone
20 years ago Gelmino and Cristina Dal Bosco decided to quit selling grapes to the Co Op and make their own wine. Given that the family has been farming vineyards in Soave Classico for 13 generations (Since 1644) that could be called a break with tradition. The yields in their old vine vineyards are quite low and the extremely steep slopes hard to work, so what the Co Op pays for fruit just doesn't cut it. The localita of Brognoligo is home to many of the finest cru's of Soave Classico including Castellaro, which the Battistelle Vineyard is a part of. In all, 30+ parcels add up to a scant 10 hectares. The average vine age is approximately 80 years across all of the parcels and Battistelle and Roccolo del Durlo have a fair percentage of vines over 100 years old. The three bottlings are separated not only due to site but also sub-types of soils. The most recent coverage of Soave (Vinous-April 2022) included these comments about their wines, "The Montesei is a total pleasure to taste." , "This is simply stunning" (Re Battistelle). "There is simply so much character packed into this zesty Soave." Re Roccolo
Susegana
Malibran produces a spectacular array of Prosecco from their own, lovingly tended 7 hectare vineyard in Susegana. Maurizio Favrel and his family bottle the typical range of classic "Extra Dry", "Brut" and also a very dry "Cinque Grammi" (refering to only 5 grams RS.) These wines are all very carefully made in small quantities have a textural quality unlike any I've encountered. What really sets them apart and above in my opinion is that they also seem to have mastered the "Col Fondo" style of bone-dry, fermented in bottle versions. Production here is 100% estate bottled, rare in the Prosecco zone.
Sommacampagna
In terms of scale, Monte del Fra is well outside the size of most of the wineries we represent. In term of intentions, not so. Azienda Agricola Monte del Fra started with just a few hectares of vines in Custoza 65 years ago. Custoza was not then and still to this day not a well known or respected zone. Yet they were so successful making delicious wines there (something that seems to have escaped the grasp of other producers there) that it fueled growth to 240 hectares in every one of the Veronese appellations. (140 owned and another 100 leased & farmed by them). Although they have been making really good wine at all of the properties, the Custoza wines where it all began, are a pride and joy and for good reason. Quoting a recent article on the Custoza bottlings from Jancis Robinsons site, "It’s quite difficult to describe just how beautiful this wine is" , & "There are wines twice, thrice the price and half as good".
Mezzane di Sotto
Marco Sartori is a very passionate and gifted young winemaker. This winery has quickly attained the levels of the greatest producers in the area. Most recent reviews put the winery on a par qualitatively with Quintarelli and DalForno, yet the style is quite distinct. The Mezzane valley is part of the Valpolicella Allagarta, the area outside of the classico zone to the northeast of Verona. This area is home to several of the best newer producers such as Dalforno and Roccolo Grassi. Sartori's goal and style is to produce concentrated but refined and elegant wines. He has succeeded admirably in creating a new category of Valpolicella and Amarone that are the equal of the other greats but distinctly different in their elegance. These are extremely limited production.
Terre di San Venanzio Fortunato
Valdobbiadene
Fortunately, these wines are sooo good you'll forgive the difficult name and just call them San Venanzio. These Prosecco's are from the part of Valdobbiadene just adjacent to Cartizze and bear resemblance to wines that come from the Cru of Prosecco. The care and attention these are made with is immediately evident with tasting. Using only time, temperature and gravity to settle the base wines leaves the natural proteins in them and is very evident in the texture and consistency of the wine and it's mousse. This part of the new Prosecco Superiore DOCG zone makes wines distinctly different from the Conegliano side. They exihibit fine, fresh, flowery aromas and the most delicate mousse and creamy consistency. And from the "If you can't beat' em, join 'em " files comes the announcement that San Venanzio has produced a DOC version of Prosecco (arriving in October) for those who simply will not consider paying the premium for the DOCG versions. This one is a bit different than most in that the grapes are grown inside the DOCG area, hand harvested etc just like the others, not machine harvested on the flat plains. However growers can only declare a maximum yield allowed by the DOCG regs, and sometimes the sites go over that amount. It is this excess yield that produces this wine.
The small region known as Colli Euganei DOC might be one of Italy's most underated areas. It is something of a geological abberration where in the middle of what was once sea floor and is now the alarmingly flat Po River Valley, a series of steep, volcanic hills rose to about 600 meters. In some places the magma produced a bulge below pushing up the sea floor, resulting in lower, less steeply inclined cones and the magma never burst through to form the typical steep cones. These hills are clustered rather tightly together and approaching from some directions, zooming along the autostrada, they are down-right bizarre to behold. But what lies inside is a vine growers haven.